I went to the Pasig office of Operation Blessing to help sort medications that were donated by some very kind souls. It was my first time to volunteer for anything and I went alone after receiving a text from one of their staff. I worked together with another nurse called Psyche, named after the Greek goddess of soul. Man, I love her name. We grouped similar medications into four and removed the expired ones. After that, we also helped in sorting and repacking clothes.

Some might find it tedious but I really enjoyed it. I often forget how relaxing it can be to stay quiet and focus on the task you have at hand. There’s something very therapeutic about how it allows you to push your thoughts aside for awhile and rest your mind (of course, provided that nothing is pressuring you to finish the task ASAP, like deadlines). It also helps to have a friend with you (though going alone isn’t a problem; you’re bound to meet a new friend there).

Let me just say that the people at the center are awesome. They were so friendly and organized. I’m grateful for the opportunity to help. I observed the way they operated and it was like watching a well-oiled machine with all the little parts moving to keep everything running. It was very uplifting to see how hard everyone was working, and how responsive people were to the recent disaster (their warehouse was full of donations and they had a lot of work to do with repacking and distribution). Good vibes everywhere. It makes me want to go back every day.

Yes, they need a lot of volunteers. If you want to give back in your own little way or restore your faith in humanity, please sign up.

Not all of us can do something as big as going to the affected areas and assisting victims in need, but a little goes a long way. Anyone who’s interested can visit their website and Facebook page. They have 4-hour shifts for volunteers (but you can stay longer with permission). They accept walk-in volunteers, but you will need to call their office if you plan on bringing a big group.

Note: Most of you may be familiar with the verse “…but when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,” and I try hard to take it to heart. I blogged this with some hesitation because I normally don’t talk about when I “give back” (and also because I went to Operation Blessing without the knowledge of my parents, who believe that the location of their office is dangerous. It seemed safe enough to me, though). I just really wanted to share my thoughts for today.

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Hi.

This is the personal blog of teskaraptor aka bananatree. Yes that's me, a 20-something nurse working in the IT field. If you ask me to choose one word to describe myself, I would choose "weird."